‘Baking’ the world a better place

If you think being a chef was not challenging enough, try being a pastry chef aka pâtissier. Michelin Star awarded pastry chef Matthew Hodgett, who recently visited India at WeWork and conducted some interesting interactions with aspiring bakers and chefs, spoke to us about his journey as a baker and gave us an insight about the latest trends in global desserts.

The chef mentioned that in 2019, the desserts are getting more and more picturesque. Some of the most popular trends are to make lace design using a lace paste and making flowers out of buttercream with the use of designs from piping tubes. For chef Hoggett, who specialises in cake decoration and chocolate work, the influence comes from looking at the latest trends. He says, “Indeed, it is always interesting to see what is being done in the industry, for one to know what people are looking for as consumers but also to keep up to date to the new techniques and technology developed to create beautiful and delicious work. While it is tough to be a chef, the passion and satisfaction of a job well done will make up for the long hours and unsocial timetable. That said, if I have to give a tip to aspiring chefs, then I’ll say always enjoy your work and remember to be focused with flair and a smile.”

Chef Hodgett, who comes from a small town called Stamford (UK), first got trained at the George Hotel of Stamford. Later, he went to Stamford College to pursue professional training and worked part-time in restaurants around Stamford. His career took a turn when he left Stamford to work at a 5-star hotel in Hertfordshire called the Hambury Manor, where he worked under Albert Roux, the establishment’s director at that time. Speaking about his career path and his famous clients like the royals of England, he mentions, “I was able to work for the American embassy for part-time. I had the honour of cooking for the Queen and five American presidents, even meeting one of them face-to-face. I joined Le Cordon Bleu London in 2010 as Pâtisserie Teaching Chef, and since then have taught classes in Korea and Poland as a representative of the school.

At Le Cordon Bleu, I contributed to a number of highly intricate and elaborate cakes: namely the 150th birthday cake for St. Pancras International inspired by the iconic destination, a 9 foot replica of Queen Elizabeth’s and Prince Philips 70th wedding anniversary, and not to forget, Le Cordon Bleu’s very own 120th birthday cake.”

Speaking about his experience in India and conducting a session at WeWork, Gurgaon for a varied set of people across age groups, he revealed that as a chef his impressions of food turned out to be very different than expected. While drawing comparisons between the Indian and Western desserts, he remarked, “As a chef, I would work with the produce rather than just eat it. I was interested in all the produce that have no eggs in, though still having this light and fluffy texture that battered whites would bring. For example, the texture of the creams here is different. The cream in India has lower fat. In India, the food that has impressed me is kefir which is only starting to be popular in England. It is something Indian and western desserts have always crossed paths. Indeed, there are certainly strong influences in terms of ingredients and tastes. For example, saffron is used in custards, spices are used in cakes and syrups and even in ice creams. The East and the West have a strong history of commercial exchange and these flavours are a big part of it. Hence some similarities are bound to be found.”

Cookies

Ingredients:

• Soft Flour 200 gm
• Sugar 50 gm
• Salt 2 gm
• Butter 125 gm
• Egg 50g
• 1/2 lemon zest
• Vanilla Bean paste 2 gm

Method:

1. Add cream butter, sugar and lemon zest mix together. Combine the egg and vanilla together, add gradually to the butter and sugar. Sieve the flour and salt add to eff mixture. Mix to form dough. Place the mix on the work surface, wrap in cling foil and chill. Roll out after chilling to 4 or 5mm thick and cut out into heart shapes. Bake it at 160 for 15-20 mins until golden and cool on wire mash.

Gâteau au Citron (Lemon Cake)

Ingredients:

• Soft Flour 262 gm
• Castor sugar 262 gm
• Butter 172 gm
• Egg 150 gm
• Baking Powder 3.5 gm
• 2 lemon zest
• Milk 128 ml
• Apricot glaze
• Marzipan

Method:

1. Mix cream butter, sugar and lemon zest together, until very pale and fluffy. Gradually add in the eggs. Sieve the flour and baking powder. Fold the flour into the butter mixture and pour into a paper lined circular cake pan. Bake in a pre-heated oven at 180 degree C for approx 50 mins or until skewer comes out clean.
2. Bake at 160 for 15-20 mins until golden. Cool on wire mash.!

Saint-Honoré au Fruit de la Mango

Ingredients:

• Pâte brisée (short crust pastry):
• Unsalted butter 200 gm
• T55 flour 400 gm
• Fine table salt 10 gm
• Caster sugar 10 gm
• Eggs 100 gm (2 medium eggs)
• Vanilla paste 10 gm
• Water 20 gm

Egg wash:

• Egg yolk about 5 egg yolk
• Eggs about 1 medium egg
• Salt 2 gm
• Sugar 2 gm
• Water 10 g

Choux pastry:

• Water  250 gm
• Whole milk 250 gm
• Unsalted butter 200 gm
• Fine table salt 4 gm
• T55 flour, sieved 300 gm
• Fresh eggs (approx. 10 medium eggs) 500 gm

Mango fruit Chantilly cream:

• Whipping cream 35% min 750 gm
• Icing sugar 100 gm
• Freeze-dried Mango powder 75 gm
• Vanilla paste 15 gm

Sugar decoration:

• Isomalt 300 gm
• Water 30 gm
• Sugar colouring (optional)
• 4 fresh Mango’s

Method:

1. Pâte brisée: Rub the butter into the flour, salt and sugar until a sandy texture is achieved. Add in the eggs, vanilla and water and mix until dough is formed. Roll out between 2 sheets of baking paper. Allow to rest in the fridge, and then cut the dough into a rectangle shape. Dock the dough, then bake at 175°C for around 20 minutes. To make the egg wash, whisk all egg wash ingredients together.
2. Choux pastry: Combine water, milk, butter and salt in a pan and bring to a quick boil. Stir in the flour and continue to cook over a medium heat. Transfer to a machine bowl with a paddle attachment and process until the mixture has cooled down. Gradually add the eggs until dropping consistency is achieved. Pipe choux buns and egg wash. Bake in a fan oven at 175°C for 20 minutes. Reduce the temperature to 155°C and cook until dry, opening the vent for the last 5 minutes.
3. Mango fruit Chantilly cream: Combine all the ingredients and whisk until medium peaks are formed, then reserve in the fridge until needed. For sugar decoration, add the isomalt to water and bring to the boil. Add sugar colouring if needed and cook to sugar crack stage. Allow to cool to a syrup consistency before use.

Choux crumble Chocolat et Caramel sale

Ingredients:

Choux Pastry

• Whole Milk 250 gm
• Water 250 gm
• Unsalted Butter 200 gm
• T55 Flour, sieved 300 gm
• Fresh Eggs 500 gm
• Table Salt 4 gm

Caramel Filling:

• Caster sugar 100 gm
• Whipping cream 100 gm
• Salted Butter 50 gm
• Vanilla pods 1

Sable Topping:

• T55 Flour 280 gm
• Soft Light Brown Sugar 130 gm
• Butter, chilled & diced 250 gm

Chocolate Chantilly:

• Dark chocolate 66% 150 gm
• Whipping cream 400 gm
• Topping
• Dark chocolate 100 gm
• Marzipan 33% 200 gm

Method

1. For the Choux Pastry: Combine water, milk, butter and salt in pan, bring to quick boil over medium heat. Stir in flour and cook on heat for few minutes. Transfer to KA bowl with paddle attachment until cool down to 40°C. Add eggs a few at a time, clearing through each time. Pipe on to buttered baking tray. For the Sable Topping, rub all ingredients together. Roll our between 2 sheets of baking paper to 1mm thick, then freeze. Cut large and small discs with round cutters. Apply a disk of Sable topping. Bake in fan oven for 170°C / 20mins then 155°C/10mins (Open vent for last 5 minutes).
2. For the Caramel Filling, infuse the cream and the vanilla, gently warm up. Make a caramel using the caster sugar and deglaze the caramel with the butter. Gradually add in the infused cream and bring back to a boil until desired consistency is reached. Prepare the Chocolate Chantilly, by melting the chocolate and gradually adding the whipped cream to it. Use immediately.
3. For the topping, melt the chocolate and gradually incorporate to the Marzipan until desired consistency. Roll out using a rolling pin cut out disk and apply a design using a silicone press.